# Investing in Battery Recycling in Chile | EcoBaterías > How does a lithium battery recycling plant in Chile make money? Two revenue streams, regulated demand, in-house projections and access to the data room. Canonical: https://ecobaterias.org/en/inversionistas.html · Language: en · Alternate (es): https://ecobaterias.org/inversionistas.html · Updated: 2026-10-09 Investor information # The business, in numbers EcoMinería (Ecoprojects), a founding partner of EcoBaterías, operated a hydrometallurgical plant in Lampa that returned the recovered minerals to mining. EcoBaterías’ new plant, which will receive and process the batteries, is under review by the Seremi de Salud RM (Chile’s regional health authority). Under the EcoBaterías model, the company is paid twice for the same material: an intake fee for every tonne of battery that enters the plant, and the market price of the mineral that leaves it. Demand for the first is driven by Chile’s Extended Producer Responsibility law (Ley REP, Law No. 20,920); demand for the second comes from copper mining, which imported 1,418 t of cobalt sulfate in 2025 (Chilean Customs Service), the input the Lampa plant produced. Testing: available. Recycling and final disposal: through authorized receiving facilities; own capacity in the permitting process before the Seremi de Salud RM, on which intake at a plant of our own and mineral sales depend. Updated October 9, 2026 · Reviewed by the EcoBaterías technical team. This page summarizes the business model for information purposes. It is not an offer to invest nor a financial recommendation, and the projections are unaudited in-house estimates that rest on assumptions which may not hold. - **Revenue streams:** Intake fee and sale of recovered minerals - **Inbound demand:** Driven by Law No. 20,920 (EPR) - **Outbound demand:** Copper mining and industry - **Market evidence:** Recycled cobalt sulfate test at Codelco El Teniente, results published in July 2024. The article does not name the supplier. ## Two revenue streams, one process What makes battery recycling unusual is that the raw material arrives with a negative cost: the waste holder pays to dispose of it properly, because an end-of-life battery is handled as hazardous waste under Supreme Decree (DS) 148 unless a characterization shows otherwise, and its destination has to be documented. The recycling price for lithium-ion batteries, managed today with authorized receiving facilities, is published on our [recycling price](https://ecobaterias.org/en/servicios.html#precio-recepcion) section. 1. **Inbound: intake fee.** Producers, importers, fleets and mining sites hand over their end-of-life batteries and pay per tonne managed, with batch traceability and a valorization certificate. 2. **Process: hydrometallurgy.** Dismantling, milling, leaching, purification and crystallization: the hydrometallurgical process that EcoMinería (Ecoprojects), a founding partner of EcoBaterías, ran at its Lampa plant, under a 2020 health permit from the [Seremi de Salud of the Santiago Metropolitan Region (Chile’s regional health authority)](https://ecobaterias.org/en/cumplimiento.html) issued in its name, and the process of the new plant, under review by the Seremi de Salud RM. 3. **Outbound: mineral sales.** Cobalt sulfate, copper, aluminum, black mass and graphite, for mining and metal buyers. Cobalt sulfate replaces an imported input. 4. **Extra: preparation for reuse.** Whatever can return to service is tested, [repaired](https://ecobaterias.org/en/lithium-battery-repair.html) or [refurbished](https://ecobaterias.org/en/lithium-battery-refurbishment.html) before recycling, which also feeds the reuse fraction proposed in the draft battery decree. The margin therefore does not hang on a single commodity price: it rests on two different curves, one regulatory and one commercial. ## Why demand does not track the economic cycle Inbound volume is pushed by regulation. Law No. 20,920 is in force and obliges producers to fund the collection and valorization of what they place on the market; the specific battery targets will be set by a decree the Ministry of the Environment must propose before 2027-01-29. The detail is in [Chile’s EPR law and batteries](https://ecobaterias.org/en/chile-epr-law-batteries.html) and, for photovoltaic modules, in [Supreme Decree (DS) 22/2025 applied to solar panels](https://ecobaterias.org/en/ds-22-2025-solar-panels-epr.html). Battery waste stream in Chile, estimate for 2026 | Category | Estimated waste (2026) | Recycled today | |---|---|---| | Lithium-ion batteries | 1,100 t | ≈0% | | Lead-acid batteries | 44,400 t | ≈90% | Source: [impact assessment of the draft battery decree, Ministry of the Environment (Res. Ex. 821/2026)](https://consultasciudadanas.mma.gob.cl/portal) · 2026-09-18 That last column is the thesis in one line: the lithium-ion stream exists, it is growing, and it has almost no final destination inside the country. Anyone who needs to hand over that waste today looks for an [authorized lithium battery waste manager](https://ecobaterias.org/en/authorised-battery-waste-manager-chile.html) and checks [where to recycle lithium batteries in Chile](https://ecobaterias.org/en/where-to-recycle-lithium-batteries-chile.html). The full market context is in [the lithium battery market in Chile](https://ecobaterias.org/en/mercado.html). The stream grows with electromobility and storage. This is our estimate of the lithium batteries that will reach end of life: Lithium batteries reaching end of life in Chile (EcoBaterías estimate) | Year | Tonnes per year | Scope | |---|---|---| | 2030 | ≈1,500 t | Electric vehicles only; excludes BESS | | 2035 | ≈2,500 t | Lithium batteries | | 2040 | ≈5,500 t | Lithium batteries | Source: EcoBaterías in-house estimate, not a declared figure · 2026-10-06 On the outbound side, copper mining uses cobalt sulfate in electrowinning and imports it today: 60 to 80% comes from China (Chilean Customs Service, tariff line 2833.29.10). If EcoBaterías supplied liquid product to every electrowinning operation in the country, it would sell about USD 5.3 million a year (in-house estimate). Cobalt sulfate imported by Chile (HS 2833.29.10) | Year | Tonnes | CIF value (USD million) | USD per kg | |---|---|---|---| | 2022 | 1,103 | 16.55 | 15.00 | | 2023 | 1,453 | 11.05 | 7.60 | | 2024 | 1,209 | 6.52 | 5.39 | | 2025 | 1,418 | 8.70 | 6.13 | | Jan–Aug 2026 | 698 | 8.28 | 11.87 | Source: [Chilean Customs Service (Servicio Nacional de Aduanas)](https://www.aduana.cl/), imports under tariff line 2833.29.10, excluding laboratory lots · 2026-10-06 ## Projections for the first plant The figures below come from the cash flow of the first plant, at an intake fee of 10 UF per tonne, less than half the published price. They are an unaudited in-house projection built on volume, price and cost assumptions that may not hold; they are published to explain the shape of the curve, not to promise a result. Volume comes from phone batteries and e-waste, electric vehicles, and imports of batteries and black mass from the region. Five-year projection for the first plant (in-house, unaudited estimate) | Plan year | Tonnes processed | Sales (USD) | EBITDA (USD) | |---|---|---|---| | Year 1 | 144 | 349,962 | −80,503 | | Year 2 | 1,012 | 2,138,227 | 1,063,305 | | Year 3 | 1,521 | 2,981,209 | 1,609,811 | | Year 4 | 2,125 | 3,990,652 | 2,143,709 | | Year 5 | 2,854 | 5,219,123 | 2,539,082 | Source: cash flow of the EcoBaterías first plant · unaudited in-house projection · 2026-10-06 The curve has three phases. Year 1 operates for only three months and closes with negative EBITDA. From year 2 the volume covers the plant’s fixed cost and EBITDA is positive. In year 5 EBITDA is about 49% of sales, on 2,854 t processed: about 9.5 t per working day, above the 5 t per day threshold that requires the plant to enter Chile’s environmental impact assessment system (SEIA). The projected return of the plan is 47% at the 10 UF per tonne fee, after tax. It is an in-house estimate subject to the same assumptions as the table, and how it is built is reviewed in the data room under a confidentiality agreement. ## The advantage a competitor cannot copy quickly The moat is not the machinery, which can be bought: it is the permit and the destination of the material. The Lampa plant, operated by EcoMinería (Ecoprojects), a founding partner of EcoBaterías, held a 2020 health permit from the Seremi de Salud RM issued in its name, and the new plant is under review by the same authority. Used batteries are hazardous waste and nobody may export them while there is local capacity to treat them (Basel Convention, art. 4.9): they have to be valorized in Chile. What leaves the plant are products with a specification and a buyer, shipped as class 9 dangerous goods rather than as waste. The detail is in [the Basel Convention and lithium batteries](https://ecobaterias.org/en/ventaja-basilea.html). On the product side there is market evidence: the hydrometallurgical plant of Codelco El Teniente successfully tested recycled cobalt sulfate, delivered in solution (testing from November 2023; results published in July 2024): 22% lower cost and 40% lower consumption than imported sulfate, with one daily addition instead of three. The [El Rancagüino article of 2024-07-15](https://www.elrancaguino.cl/2024/07/15/el-teniente-prueba-con-exito-uso-de-sulfato-de-cobalto-reciclado-para-la-obtencion-de-catodos-de-cobre/) does not name the supplier. The detail is in [the Codelco El Teniente test](https://ecobaterias.org/en/experiencia.html). ## Status of each line Not every line is at the same stage, and this page says so explicitly so that nobody discounts revenue from a capability that is still under review. Testing: available, as are repair, second life, solar panels and pickup. Recycling and final disposal: through authorized receiving facilities; own capacity in the permitting process. ### Battery recycling Through authorized receiving facilities Recycling lithium-ion batteries, managed with authorized receiving facilities, costs 22 UF per tonne + VAT; the authorized receiving facility closes the SIDREP declaration and issues the valorization certificate. With the new plant, this is the line that generates the model’s intake fee. See [lithium battery recycling for companies](https://ecobaterias.org/en/lithium-battery-recycling-service.html). ### Recycling at a plant of our own Under review by the Seremi de Salud RM The Lampa hydrometallurgical plant was operated by EcoMinería (Ecoprojects), a founding partner, under a 2020 Seremi de Salud RM health permit issued in its name. Mineral sales, the model’s second revenue stream, depend on the new plant. ### Battery testing, repair and refurbishment Available State-of-health testing, repair and refurbishment of packs before deciding their route. See [testing](https://ecobaterias.org/en/diagnostico-baterias-litio.html), [repair](https://ecobaterias.org/en/lithium-battery-repair.html) and [lithium battery refurbishment](https://ecobaterias.org/en/lithium-battery-refurbishment.html). ### Second-life batteries Available Grading and matching of modules for stationary storage. See [second-life batteries](https://ecobaterias.org/en/second-life-batteries.html). ### Photovoltaic module line Available Testing, repair, refurbishment, reuse and recycling of modules, including solar plant repowering. See [solar panel testing](https://ecobaterias.org/en/solar-panel-testing.html), [refurbished panels](https://ecobaterias.org/en/refurbished-solar-panels.html) and [solar plant repowering](https://ecobaterias.org/en/solar-plant-repowering.html). ### Collection and transport Available We coordinate pickup with licensed hazardous-waste carriers anywhere in Chile. See [collection and transport of batteries and panels](https://ecobaterias.org/en/battery-solar-panel-collection-transport.html). Source: [datos/empresa.json](https://ecobaterias.org/datos/empresa.json) by EcoBaterías, status reviewed on 2026-10-09. ## Risks and how they are covered The questions that come up most often in a review, with the answer we put in writing. Identified risks and mitigation measures | Risk | Mitigation | |---|---| | Permits and environmental procedures | The Lampa plant operated under a 2020 health permit from the Seremi de Salud RM for the hydrometallurgical process, issued in the name of EcoMinería (Ecoprojects): the founding partner has already walked the regulatory path once. The new plant is under review by the Seremi de Salud RM. | | Battery supply slower than expected | Local volume complemented with material from other Latin American countries and with black mass, without changing the plant process. | | Changes in the battery decree | Today’s known targets come from a draft and may change; the model does not depend on a specific target, but on waste needing a verifiable final destination. | | Price of recovered minerals | Two independent revenue streams: the intake fee sustains operations when mineral prices fall. | ## What is in the data room Detailed material is shared under a confidentiality agreement with counterparties in due diligence. It includes the financial plan and its assumptions, the permitting file of the new plant, the technical record of the process, and the detailed assumptions behind the per-tonne export advantage calculation. If you would rather start with what is public, [the process step by step](https://ecobaterias.org/en/proceso.html) and [who we are](https://ecobaterias.org/en/nosotros.html) explain where the Lampa plant came from and how it operated. ## Sources - Library of the National Congress of Chile, [Law No. 20,920 on waste management and extended producer responsibility](https://www.bcn.cl/leychile/navegar?idNorma=1090894). - Ministry of the Environment, [draft supreme decree on batteries and its impact assessment (Res. Ex. 821/2026)](https://consultasciudadanas.mma.gob.cl/portal). - EcoBaterías, cash flow of the first plant: unaudited in-house projection of tonnes, sales and EBITDA over five years (October 2026). The end-of-life projection is also an in-house estimate. - [Chilean Customs Service (Servicio Nacional de Aduanas)](https://www.aduana.cl/): cobalt sulfate imports, tariff line 2833.29.10, 2022–2026. - El Rancagüino, [tests of recycled cobalt sulfate at El Teniente, 2024-07-15](https://www.elrancaguino.cl/2024/07/15/el-teniente-prueba-con-exito-uso-de-sulfato-de-cobalto-reciclado-para-la-obtencion-de-catodos-de-cobre/). - Status by line: [datos/empresa.json](https://ecobaterias.org/datos/empresa.json). Publishable figures and their attribution: [datos/estadisticas.json](https://ecobaterias.org/datos/estadisticas.json), cut-off 2026-09-18. ## Want to review the plan with the founding team? We give access to the data room under a confidentiality agreement: financial plan with its assumptions, the permitting file of the new plant and the technical record of the process. Tell us what kind of investor you represent and we reply within 48 business hours. - Reply within 48 business hours - Pickup coordinated with licensed hazardous-waste carriers across Chile - Technical report for every batch - In-house testing lab for batteries and panels [Request data room access (under NDA)](https://ecobaterias.org/en/contacto.html?segmento=inversionistas) [WhatsApp](https://wa.me/56987616071?text=Hi%2C%20I%27d%20like%20a%20quote%20for%20managing%20our%20lithium%20batteries.) [+56 9 8761 6071](tel:+56987616071) --- contacto@ecobaterias.org · WhatsApp +56 9 8761 6071 · Santiago and Viña del Mar, Chile. EcoBaterías is a Chilean company that recycles, repairs and reuses lithium batteries and solar panels.